Young Poet: Emily Rushing

Emily Rushing is from South Carolina. She loves reading, writing, and learning arbitrary skills. She is a rising high school junior and 'is looking forward to what the next years hold.....'

I’m From

I’m from camo four wheelers,

From driving through mud and my grandad’s teasing

I’m from tall, arching, protective trees

Making the roadway magically dark

I’m from spanish moss, vines and weeds

I’m from a one-story house on a lane named after a fish,

Blue shutters and a flooded backyard every rain

I’m from catching tadpoles, exploring ditches 

With a singular plank as a bridge

When my parents would turn their heads

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I’m from days spent outside with neighbors,

My school uniform trashed

I’m from making potions from sand, dirt, grass,

And throwing it at my brother

I’m from tee-ball, basketball, soccer, karate

From a romantic concession stand with someone I hope to find again

I’m from injuries and cruel teachers

Who punished kids for being kids

I’m from trash fires and Chevy trucks

Hunting dogs, fat cats, rabid possums

I’m from thick mac’n’cheese, sizzling soda,

Freezing sweet tea, greasy chicken

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I’m from a big white library in town,

A playground in the back where I talked with my crush

I’m from Dairy Queen, Burger King, and KFC all on the same street

A park and a reserve, a duck named after my grandmother

I’m from daily milkshakes with Gigi, arguments with my brother

About the drive taken to her house

I’m from deer heads and rifles

Gospel songs and church friends

I’m from Dad’s jokes

And Mom’s advice

From where I barely call home anymore

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People Before Me

I’m a puzzle of the people before me    

My father’s movie-quote humor, my mother’s chestnut hair

I hope they’re proud when I cross that golden sea

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My grandfather’s need to be free

My mother’s skin, so fair

I’m a puzzle of the people before me

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My father’s drive to achieve

His mother’s dramatic flair

I hope they’re proud when I cross that golden sea

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My brother’s sticky wonder with Star Wars and TV

My unknown great grandfather’s sapphire glare

I’m a puzzle of the people before me

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My grandmother’s tongue, jagged glass and mean

Her husband’s hatred for things unfair

I hope they’re proud when I cross that golden sea

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They all have ideas of who I should be

I need more time to prepare

I’m a puzzle of the people before me

I hope they’re proud when I cross that golden sea